


The Way to Otsu

by soraflye (flitterfly5)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterfly5/pseuds/soraflye
Summary: Ohno was prepared to end it all, but then he meets a garrulous young man on the train.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is all fiction. I'm not associated with Arashi in any way.
> 
> Posted on LJ a long time ago.

Ohno had every intention of doing it.  
  
He had had it played out in his head since the first sip of his morning tea that day. The step to the edge, the crunch of loose pebbles, sparkling sun on sea, a final lean and teeter, and then the plunge.  
  
It was going to happen, he told himself. Today, he wouldn't put it off any longer.  
  
He closed his eyes as the train rushed on, and let the dashes of passing countryside whip over his upturned face. He didn't bring much with him on this journey. Just a small bag. He didn't even dress up before leaving the house. Better not to waste his good clothes, he had thought with a bittersweet sense of good citizenship.  
  
The air conditioning vent rattled noisily after they passed Nagoya. Ohno ignored it, but it only seemed to get noisier, as if to spite him.  
  
 _Rattle-rattle-squeak-squeak-eeeeeeee!!_  
  
Ohno heaved a sigh, and tried harder to fall asleep. Sleep, seriously? He shook his head at his own naivety. Life was not that forgiving to him.  
  
"Hey, let's see what we can do about this vent!"  
  
A cheery voice piped up out of nowhere, and Ohno turned around, annoyed, to find a correspondingly cheery face hovering around the space in front of him, looking up at the offending piece of metal in the ceiling of the train and already trying to fix it with a set of coarse but strong hands.  
  
"It's just a little dislodged," the face grunted in exertion. "Ah! There, I think I fixed it!" The face beamed now, and looked over to where Ohno was still leaning uncomfortably against the window in the corner, trying to be as far away from the stranger as possible.  
  
"I don't bite, you know," the face chuckled merrily and held a slightly reddened hand out to Ohno, who noticed that it was trembling slightly, as if the man to which it belonged was somehow nervous about the gesture.  
  
Slowly (and with a self-suffering sigh), Ohno took the proffered hand and let its rough warmth wrap around his own in a firm handshake. _Maybe he'll leave me alone now_ , he thought, wincing a little at the man's strength.  
  
The man merely plopped down in the seat beside him and flashed him a big grin.  
  
"You're not very talkative, are you?" he hummed. "That's okay. My brother Nino always said that I could talk enough for two people, anyway. He's my twin, you see, but we're nothing alike. Everyone says he got the brains while I got the brawn." The man gave a great hoot of laughter. "But I guess that's why we were born together. It would have been terrible for one of us to live without the other, even for a second, don't you think?" He didn't even wait for Ohno to answer and chattered on obliviously. "Nino just moved in with his boyfriend, though, so I've had to live alone for the past week. _Mou_..."  
  
Ohno had never seen a grown man pout so blatantly in public to a perfect stranger before. But as he gazed skeptically into the comically forlorn eyes of the man in front of him, he supposed wryly that there was a first time for everything, even on your dying day.  
  
"Say, where are you headed to?" The man was now fumbling around the insides of a leather bag, which seemed to be filled with a jumble of random artifacts and notebooks. "Ah where is it?" he muttered under his breath. "I swore I had it in that little pocket just a while back..."  
  
"Here."  
  
Ohno picked a little tin case of gum drops from the floor between the man's feet and handed it to him uncertainly.  
  
"This, um, this fell from the little pocket just now."  
  
He felt his face flush, and lowered his head. God, his voice sounded terrible, all hollow and broken and scratchy. He quickly deposited the gum drops in the man's lap and withdrew his hand, recoiling at himself.  
  
No one but the doctors had heard him speak since that terrible laryngeal infection three months ago, and he intended it to stay that way. His voice was not what it was before, and they had told him that it would never get better. The damage was done, and Ohno Satoshi's voice was never to soar above glittering concert halls in its unparalleled luster again, no matter how much he practiced or how hard he tried or how many throat lozenges he consumed in a day.  
  
Permanent scarring of the vocal cords, they had said.  
  
Permanent.  
  
"Ah!" exclaimed the young man, who seemed to be rather excitable. "Thank you." He settled into his seat again and popped a couple of gum drops out of the case, winking at Ohno. "So you _can_ speak, after all. I was beginning to think you were a mute. Haha!"  
  
 _I might as well be,_ thought Ohno bitterly. _I'm nothing without my voice._  
  
"Here, have a gum." The happy chatter continued. "I like the apple flavor, this green one here, see? It's a bit tangy, but I think all sweets should pack a kick, don't you?... Hnnnn... Yes! I got lucky with this pack! So many green ones! Here, try it."  
  
Ohno blinked down as he felt the dull pressure of a hand around his left wrist. An artificially green candy was tipped into his palm with a little click of the tin, and he watched as a rough-looking finger rubbed itself on his hand curiously.  
  
"Your fingers feel funny," the man giggled, pinching them. "They're all stiff and hot, not at all how I thought they'd feel." He paused thoughtfully and gave Ohno's hand a surprisingly professional touch. "Just looking at them, I imagined them to be more flexible, perhaps like the hands of an artist or a sculptor, you know? Nino's boyfriend's an aspiring artist, and he has pretty fingers just like you, but yours looks nimbler than his, and I bet they can handle a brush better, too." He laughed fondly, as though he was thinking of some funny memory. "Most people are better than Sho-san when it comes to art, though, even if their left hand is half paralyzed. Hah! That guy's lucky Nino's rich!"  
  
Ohno stared at the man in disbelief.  
  
"You-you could tell?" he croaked, momentarily forgetting how ugly and ruined his voice sounded.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, you mean about your left hand being paralyzed." The man smiled, and his eyes crinkled up into two happy crescents. "Yes, I could tell right away. I'm a doctor."  
  
Ohno nodded, swallowing in his dry throat. Doctor would have been the last occupation he would have guessed for this garrulous and rather silly-looking man, but oddly enough, it comforted him. At least now he wouldn't have to explain the details of his condition out loud.  
  
"All right, now it's your turn!" A nudge broke his thoughts. "What do you do for a living? Are you an aspiring artist, too?"  
  
Ohno hesitated, avoiding the curious brown eyes that were looking at him intently.  
  
 _Aspiring artist? Heh._  
  
He didn't know whether or not he should laugh at the irony of that. Yes, he was indeed an artist, but his short-lived peak had already come and passed. It had become rather difficult to paint and sculpt after the paralysis of his hand two years ago. He was mainly a singer now, and for a while, he had contented himself with this different form of art, painting beautiful scenes using the impeccable magnetism of his voice, feeling all his pent-up emotions glide through the air like a free-flying kite.  
  
But voice was too transient a medium.  
  
And now even that was gone.  
  
"I'm- I'm between jobs," he muttered, as vaguely as he could, still feeling the intensity of the stranger's gaze.  
  
"Ah, I see. Well, good luck!" Mercifully, the young doctor seemed to read the evasive note in Ohno's tone, and didn't pursue the subject further.  
  
 _He thinks I'm a freeter._ Ohno found that almost amusing. _This might be the last person I talk to in my life, and he thinks I'm a good-for-nothing freeter._  
  
"Say, you never answered me as to where you're headed." The man changed the subject quickly, and Ohno guessed that he wasn't the type who liked to let awkward silences stretch, so he replied.  
  
"Otsu."  
  
He cringed again at the hoarseness of what had once been a beautifully rich voice, but the doctor nearly jumped out of his seat in renewed excitement.  
  
"Otsu? Really?! That's where I'm headed, too!" He laughed happily, spilling a bunch of candy on his lap. "Ah, this is like fate!"  
  
Ohno smiled humorlessly, watching as the man clumsily tried to gather all the brightly colored gum drops back into the case. _I'm jumping into the sea today, sensei. If this is Fate, then you sure drew the short straw._  
  
But the doctor simply rambled on, the energy of his voice echoing irritatingly through the almost empty train.  
  
"So how long will you be in Otsu? There're so many cool things to do there! I can tell you all about the best places to go. I can even show you around! I'm _very_ familiar with the shops and attractions; Nino and I used to visit every year, and we'd always stay in this little cottage by the mountains; if it was summer there'd be crickets and fireflies at night and I'd catch a few for him because haha... Nino's too lazy to go walking around the forest with a bug net. But now, of course, he's with Sho-san, and it'll just be me in the cottage this time." The man suddenly slowed his babbling, and cast a rather furtive sidelong glance at Ohno. "Say, _you_ , um, you wouldn't by any chance need a place t-"  
  
"Sorry, not interested," Ohno cut him off curtly. _No point in letting him waste his breath._  
  
"Oh." Ohno could see the young doctor deflate visibly. His face was all red and a little piece of candy escaped through his legs to land with a loud plop on the otherwise neat floor.  
  
 _He's quite a good-looking guy,_ the crippled artist thought dryly, watching the long legs bend and stretch as the man scrambled to retrieve the candy. _And a doctor, too. I bet he's never gotten rejected so bluntly before._  
  
"Well, er, excuse me..." The man reddened even more. "I guess I got a bit too excited. I tend to do that a lot. I'm sorry. It's just, I never meet people travelling to Otsu at this time of year, you see, and you... you looked so _lonely_ sitting there. I thought that maybe you would, you know..."  
  
Ohno shook his head silently. The man looked crestfallen.  
  
"So you're, um, with someone already?"  
  
Ohno smiled bitterly.  
  
"I don't have time for a boyfriend," he rasped, hating the texture of every word that came out his mouth.  
  
"Oh I won't require much of your time, I promise!" The young doctor perked up, a glint of hope rekindled in his eyes. "Just one drink! You won't even have to go out of your way for me. I'll go to wherever is most convenient for you; just give me a chance!"  
  
Ohno stared. _Why is a man like him begging someone like me so desperately?_  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling a dull throb in his useless left hand. "But I have something important to do."  
  
 _He should really just leave me alone._  
  
The man was persistent as hell, though.  
  
"Where?" he asked, leaning uncomfortably close to Ohno. "I'll wait for you after. All I want is to buy you _one_ drink, and then you can forget about me if you don't like me."  
  
 _He's not giving up, is he?_ Ohno sighed. _Well, I suppose I can_ say _I'll meet him, and he'll probably just leave after I don't show up..._  
  
"Fine," he said grudgingly.  
  
"Great!" The stranger clapped his hands together, delighted. "Where'll you be?"  
  
"Bottom of the sea, hopefully." Ohno muttered with some spite, and then immediately froze as he saw the man's eyes grow large with shock and fear.  
  
 _Wait. Did I just say that out loud?_ He hastened to correct himself.  
  
"I meant bottom of the sea scuba diving, of course," he forced a laugh and waved his good hand weakly. It would never do for these doctor types to suspect him of suicidal tendencies. "That's what I'm travelling there for. I, uh, signed up for lessons."  
  
"You'll be up north, then." The doctor's eyes retained a hint of doubt, but he seemed satisfied enough with the answer to continue planning their date. "I know of a good place in the area! Niji Cafe, right by the Rakuen Park! It turns into a kind of bar at night, and their drinks are just to _die_ for! I've only been two or three times myself, but I loved it every time!" He rubbed his hands together gleefully and snuck a wink at Ohno. "Ooohh, I can't wait for tonight!"  
  
 _He's working himself up again, like a child hyper on too much candy._ Ohno grimaced and turned away, irked by the cheeriness.  
  
They stayed like that for a while, Ohno brooding with his head turned listlessly to the window while the handsome stranger babbled on and on about Niji, about his brother, his brother's boyfriend and all the five million silly things they got up to. The crippled artist was almost impressed, really, with the man's ability to keep a one-sided conversation going on and on...  
  
 _I guess happy people can talk forever,_ he thought dully.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
It was with relief that Ohno finally saw the sign for Otsu Station appear on the train's "Next Stop"display.  
  
"We're here," he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else, when the train ground to a halt.  
  
Awkwardly, the stranger stopped talking and looked at him with uncharacteristic stillness.  
  
"Heh, I guess it's time to leave, then. Ne?" He gave Ohno a nervous smile. "You-you promise you'll meet me tonight, right?"  
  
Ohno hated himself more than ever as those shy but hopeful brown eyes found his own imploringly. He barely even knew this man, but somehow the thought of bringing him disappointment filled the former singer's heart with doubt and vexation. _Those eyes..._  
  
"Of course I will," he lied hoarsely, and they both stepped off the train.  
  
"Well, here's my card." The man said. "I'll be waiting at Niji tonight."  
  
He raised an arm, as if about to embrace the shorter man, but then quickly diverted it to scratch at the back of his shaggy head, flushing when he saw the expression of surprise on Ohno's face.  
  
"Ah, I, uh, I'll see you in a few hours, then." He laughed that shy, nervous laugh again, and started walking towards the exit, waving back as he went. "Jaa ne!"  
  
Ohno nodded, gulping back a constricted feeling in his throat as he watched the man's tall shapely figure disappear around a bend in the road. Everything was suddenly so quiet.  
  
He checked his watch. It was just past noon, and he could see the sparkling blue waters shining beyond the cliffs to the north, waiting to kiss him his final goodbye.  
  
 _It's now or never._  
  
He began walking towards the inviting water.  
  
 _I have to. Now._  
  
A prickly thing was cutting into his palm, which had unconsciously clenched as he took his first step. Ohno furrowed his brow, and looked down at the simple white card that was now crumpled in his fist.  
  
_________________________  
 **AIBA MASAKI**  
 **515-510-3104**  
 **masaki@masaki.com**  
_________________________  
  
 _Aiba, huh. So that's your name._  
  
Clumsily, he turned the card over with his crippled hand. The other side was blank, but a few words had been scrawled across it in large, green handwriting.  
  
 _'Don't go 'scuba diving' please!_  
 _I don't want the eels and crabs to kiss you before I do.'_  
  
Ohno's breath rattled to a sharp stop.  
  
 _He knew. That cheery idiot, he knew._  
  
His legs suddenly turned to stone, and he could not bring them to move a step further down the sea-bound road, no matter how much the waters rolled and beckoned.  
  
 _And he's waiting for me._  
  
"Aiba Masaki," he whispered, touching his deadened hand to his lips. "Kiss?"  
  
The man's luscious lips floated to the forefront of his mind, along with the hint of melancholy in those imploring brown eyes as they had parted ways on the platform.  
  
 _'Jaa ne,' he had said. Jaa ne._  
And before he knew it, Ohno Satoshi's legs had unfrozen themselves and begun running, furiously running, not towards the water or the cliffs that towered above it, but in the opposite direction, where Aiba Masaki had gone, waving and smiling with that strange glimmer in his eyes. _Those eyes..._  
  
"AIBA!!!" he screamed, not caring at all that his voice was scratchy and unpleasant and exposed for the world to hear. All he knew was the beautiful name that was ripping from his lips like a fierce mantra, and as long as he repeated it, he knew he'd be safe.  
  
"AIBA! AIBA! AIBA MASAKI!!!!"  
  
A tall figure reappeared from behind the bend, and even through the blurriness of his running vision, Ohno could see that the man was smiling and opening his arms expectantly, as if he knew that Ohno would turn back, as if this was a moment he had been waiting very, very hard for.  
  
Ohno slammed himself into the doctor's embrace. Hard. And strong arms slid over his heaving shoulders (was he crying? Ohno didn't know what this wet stuff on his cheeks was) to envelope him in a hug that shut out the rest of the world in a shroud of warmth and fresh cologne. Ohno stopped thinking, about his hand, about his voice, about art itself, and simply let his tired muscles _melt_.  
  
"Aiba," he whispered, like a child learning the first word of a new language.  
  
Surprisingly, the man said nothing in reply, only smiled and pressed a kiss to Ohno's damp forehead.  
  
"Aiba," he said again, breathing in the new scent. "There are no eels or crabs here, you know."  
  
"No?" Aiba gave him a playfully questioning look.  
  
"Wrong season." Ohno smiled in return, the first genuine smile he'd given in a long time. He brushed his wasted left hand against the back of the doctor's neck, soaking up the gentle heat that seemed to emanate from the man and slowly closing his tired eyes as their noses began to bump against each other.  
  
"There's you, though."  
  
Aiba's face practically blossomed, and Ohno's heart twitched in his chest at the sight.  
  
"There _is_ me," Aiba agreed breathlessly, tilting his head.  
  
With a light sigh of contentment, Ohno leaned in to close the final gap between their lips.  
  
  
 _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_  
  
 _END_


End file.
